''Hadena confusa'', the marbled coronet, is a species of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

. It is found in Europe,

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

West Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 27–35 mm. The forewing ground colour is purplish fuscous tinged with olive grey. The stigmata are fused together forming a large white patch and there is a small white apical blotch. The subterminal line is white in colour and irregular wavy and joins the apical white stain. The basal field shows a more or less pronounced whitening. The fringe is chequered. The hindwings are fuscous with a small discal lunule and white fringe. The hindwings are slightly darker on the outside In very humid areas

melanistic The term melanism refers to black pigment and is derived from the gr, μελανός. Melanism is the increased development of the dark-colored pigment melanin in the skin or hair. Pseudomelanism, also called abundism, is another variant of pi ...

individuals can occur primarily in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, parts of the Hebrides, as well as in Wales and Scotland.

Biology

The moth flies from May to July and sometimes from August to September in a second generation depending on the location. The larvae feed on ''

Dianthus ''Dianthus'' () is a genus of about 340 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native mainly to Europe and Asia, with a few species in north Africa and in southern Africa, and one species (''D. repens'') in arctic North Ameri ...

'' and ''

Silene ''Silene'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae. Containing nearly 900 species, it is the largest genus in the family. Common names include campion and catchfly. Many ''Silene'' species are widely distributed, particularl ...

'' species, such as ''

Silene nutans ''Silene nutans'' is a flowering plant in the genus ''Silene'', most commonly known as Nottingham catchfly. Description ''Silene nutans'' is a diploid, mainly outcrossing, herbaceous, perennial plant. It grows up to tall, from a branching, wood ...

'' and ''

Silene vulgaris ''Silene vulgaris'', the bladder campion or maidenstears, is a plant species of the genus ''Silene'' of the family ''Caryophyllaceae''. It is native to Europe, where in some parts it is eaten, but is also widespread in North America, where it i ...

''.

Subspecies

*''Hadena confusa confusa'' *''Hadena confusa herczigi'' *''Hadena confusa iliensis''

References

External links

Fauna EuropaeaLepiforumwww.schmetterlinge-deutschlands.de

UK Moths
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1306071 Hadena Moths described in 1766 Moths of Africa Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel